Jul 4 Spotlight On: Lisa Anne Auerbach's tight knits

Auerbach knits political messages. Jumpers and scarfs you can wear to show you care. Her work is both playful and serious, making her activism accessible. Her models look like they've stepped out of a 1970's catalogue, just with more ready-to-wear political messages attached. Using wool as her weapon, Auerbach manages to tread the line between political activism and tongue-in-cheek humour. Her work embodies the very essence of female labour – knitting was often seen as 'woman's work' and bartered for goods, not money. But with the onset of the Industrial Revolution, women turned from crocheting to the male-dominated job of weaving, initiating their first (albeit demanding) steps towards equality. That Auerbach turns back towards knitting acknowledges the effort and labour that goes into a piece of work – elevating craft to a cultural setting.